Returning the Favor
by Halfsan
Summary: -Oneshot- -Secret of the Cursed Mask- -Sess/Kan- Inuyasha and Sesshomaru have a fight, leaving Sesshomaru injured. Kaname steps in to protect him. slight Inu/Kan at the end


**Got inspired to do another SOCM fic, this time with Kaname and Sesshomaru. Yay.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, or any of the characters and such. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Bandai, etc. I'm just a lowly fan who gets random ideas.**

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The fight was long and monotonous, but everything was happening so quickly. Kaname's heart began thumping from her chest when the smoke cleared, and Sesshomaru was lying on the ground, with Inuyasha standing only mere feet away. Kaname began to grow worried. Worried that his injuries were serious. Worried that Inuyasha would finish him off right there, without a single second thought.

Not if she could help it.

Kaname bolted away from her friends, ignoring their worried protests behind her. She wouldn't let Inuyasha hurt Sesshomaru anymore.

"Inuyasha," she mumbled, fighting back a sob, as she walked between the two demons, "that's enough."

"Kaname? What're you—get outta the way!" Inuyasha demanded, waving the Tetsusaiga motioning her to move.

"I—I can't let you do this, Inuyasha." Kaname's arms raised, as if she were a gate, preventing him from coming any closer.

"I'm warning you...move!" Inuyasha flashed a fanged scowl at the girl. "Unless you wanna die, too."

"If you want to get to Sesshomaru, then you'll have to get through me!" Her exterior was confident, but inside her mind, she was yelling at herself, saying how stupid she was to even _think _she could take on Inuyasha. Even with the help of her Shikigami, and the experience from fighting all of the lesser demons in this era, there was _no way_.

Inuyasha closed his eyes for a moment or three, and reopened them, glaring daggers at the girl. This look scared her, and she became even more frightened when the half-demon began to slowly pace towards her. Fear got the best of her, as Kaname made clumsy, slow steps backward. Kagome and everyone else were protesting, but it wasn't doing any good. Inuyasha's anger and Kaname's fear masked it all. She was scared. But she was more scared for Sesshomaru.

A nervous, clumsy, step back sent Kaname tumbling backwards, helpless on the ground. A quick glance to her left, and she noticed the gorgeous demon she was protecting. Back when they first met, Kaname had asked that Sesshomaru promise to protect her. He never did accept the request, but he made good in keeping the promise. Now it was her turn to return the favor.

Inuyasha stood over the two, and after a deep breath, the half-demon swung his sword high above his head. It wasn't over yet. Kaname still had to protect him.

"Inuyasha, no!" Kaname's tiny body threw itself over Sesshomaru, acting like armor. Her eyes were clamped shut as she awaited the impact of the Wind Scar...but nothing happened. After a long moment, Kaname heard the sound of metal being scraped, followed by a very angry growl. Her head lifted from Sesshomaru's chest, and saw Inuyasha walking away, with Kagome chasing after him. Miroku followed them, with Shippo on his shoulder, and Sango trotted over to Kaname and Sesshomaru.

"Kaname, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes, Sango. I'm fine," Kaname replied. She was fine, but what about Sesshomaru?

"Okay, that's good. Are you going to stay here a while, with him?"

"Yeah. It'll also give Inuyasha a while to cool down." Kaname shot a quick glance at the injured demon.

"You're right. Don't be long, alright?" Sango went off to join the rest, while waving bye to Kaname.

Her attention was completely on Sesshomaru. She concentrated on his face, waiting for his eyes to open.

"Lord Sesshomaruuuuu!" A desperate cry sounded, and upon further investigation, Kaname realized that the voice belonged to none other than Sesshomaru's devoted, loyal, and unorthodox servant, Jaken. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, running toward the two, flailing his arms about in panic.

"Jaken?" Kaname mumbled to the green imp, taking her eyes off the unconscious demon before her for the first time in a while.

"Mmm." Kaname once again shot her eyes down to Sesshomaru, whose eyes were twitching, struggling to open. Once they finally did open, the whites were completely red, and he let out a slight growl. Kaname jumped back slightly, but after uttering his name under her breath in concern, his eyelids shut, and reopened, but this time, they were normal.

"M'lord, m'lord, you're awake!" Jaken rejoiced, swinging his staff about.

"Yeah, but he's hurt badly!" Kaname pointed out.

"Hn. It's nothing. There's no need to be concerned." Sesshomaru demanded, as he struggled to sit up, grunting in pain.

"See? You can barely sit up! Here, just rest here a while, and I'll patch—"

"I don't need help from humans. I told you, don't be concerned," Sesshomaru argued.

"And, _I _told _you_ to rest here! You are in no condition to be out and about. Just let me treat your injuries, then you can go," Kaname pleaded with the demon. He didn't respond to her, but something about the look in his eye told her to proceed.

"Hey! Who do you think you are? You think a disgusting human like you can just order the Great Sesshomaru around like that?" Jaken protested. The imp was on her last nerve, and she just wanted to snatch that staff from his tiny hands and smack him around with it...but it seemed like Sesshomaru read her mind, because he began doing just that.

"Jaken. Be quiet," Sesshomaru ordered, receiving a wince from the imp, and an eventual weak 'yes, m'lord'.

Kaname undid his top, sliding the sleeves down his shoulders(well, what remained of his left shoulder). Reaching into her pack, she grabbed a first aid kit. After dabbing a cloth with some alcohol, she gave him a small warning about the pain he might feel and pressed it against the wound on his back. Now, she wasn't quite sure, but she thought she saw the Great Sesshomaru flinch ever so slightly.

"I still don't understand it," Jaken muttered, as Kaname scanned through the first aid kit, searching for the gauze. "You're just an ordinary human."

"I'm _far_ from ordinary," she corrected him, and for fun, she concentrated a small orb of Shikigami, and shot it at the imp. It certainly proved her point.

"Hey! You better watch it, girl, or I'll—gaah!" Jaken's threat was interrupted by Sesshomaru giving him another good smack across the face with his staff.

"You'll _what_?" Kaname teased, sticking her tongue out at the imp. Jaken said nothing, but his eyes never left her.

Kaname began wrapping the gauze around the demon's torso, starting first around the remaining part of his left shoulder and angling downward under his right arm. Her hands shook, as she had never been so close to a boy before, much less be able to touch one like this. Blood filled her face, which she hung low to keep it concealed from Sesshomaru. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally finished, and fixed up his top.

"There, all better. Not too tight, is it?" she asked.

"It's fine," Sesshomaru stated, standing up.

"Are you, uh, sure you'll be alright?" Kaname asked.

"I'll be fine," Sesshomaru said, nearly interrupting her. He turned away from her to take a step, and let out a growl of pain.

"I knew it! You shouldn't push yourself, Sesshomaru," she demanded, walking to his side to help him stand. "I really think you should take it easy before—"

Sesshomaru's hand landed on her shoulder before she could finish. He pulled her into him, causing Kaname to stumble into his chest. His only arm traveled to her back, and up to the back of her head. Sesshomaru made her look him in the eye. Their bodies were touching, and their faces were mere inches apart.

"I told you, I'll be fine." The instant the statement was finished, Sesshomaru's lips crashed upon her own. For these moments, nothing else existed. Just Kaname and Sesshomaru...and the nearly unheard disapproving cries of an upset Jaken. Sesshomaru pulled away, and pushed her away gently at her shoulder. He glanced behind her, "Now go. Your friends are waiting."

Kaname turned her head, and saw Inuyasha staring wide-eyed at her. When she turned back to give Sesshomaru her farewell, she noticed he was already so far away. His devoted imp was shaking his arms in disapproval, to which Sesshomaru responded with a swift kick. Kaname let out a giggle, and remembered the few moments of heaven she just experienced with Sesshomaru, but her thoughts were interrupted.

"Kaname," Inuyasha called to her, "you comin' back, or what?"

"O—oh, yeah, I'm coming!" She raced to the half-demon and followed him back to wherever their friends decided to set up camp. Kaname figured that Inuyasha was going to pretend nothing happened, which was fine with her. She forgave him.

"By the way, I—grr...sorry about...what happened," Inuyasha said, looking at her.

"It's okay, I forgive you," she said looking up at the half-demon. Kaname took this moment to inspect Inuyasha's face for dirt or bruises. When she found none, she realized that he hadn't been _persuaded_ by Kagome to apologize to her. It was all him. Kaname smiled warmly at him.

"I forgive you, too, then," Inuyasha blurted out, followed by a facial expression that told Kaname that he didn't mean to say that.

"Huh?" Kaname pressed. Did he see...?

"Grr...drop it, will ya! Let's get back before the others worry," Inuyasha demanded, and began running ahead of her.

"Hey, Inuyasha, slow down!"

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**There you have it. Once again, very cheesy, like my Inu/Kan fic, but hey who doesn't like cheese?! I do! Especially Parmesan... ahem! Also, fear my very subtle Inu/Kan in this fic! Mwahahahaaa!**


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